X-Message-Number: 22669
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2003 23:51:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jeff Davis <>
Subject: Status of cryonics legality in BC
Friends,
I moved to the Sunshine Coast of BC in August of 2001,
and have been gradually getting used to my new
surroundings. Nice place, good folks.
Yesterday, on seeing Christine Gaspar's post,
#22667: first tv interview [Christine Gaspar]
I took a moment to check out the Cryonics Society of
Canada website, and in the course of exploring, came
upon a page entitled:
THE ILLEGALITY OF CRYONICS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
[at: http://198.173.255.200/cryocdn/law57.html]
(The first part of what follows appeared in the June
1991 issue of CRYONICS magazine.)
The Cemetery and Funeral Services Act, Bill 42, ...
Under ... "Arrangements Forbidden" is
Part 5, Section 57:
"No person shall offer for sale or sell any
arrangement for the preservation or storage of human
remains based on cryonics, irradiation or any other
means of preservation or storage, by whatever name
called, that is offered or sold on the expectation of
the resuscitation of human remains at a future time."
Now, I've been aware of this situation for some time,
even read the above quoted part sometime back, perhaps
on another website. This time however, there was
something new. At the bottom of the page I find:
2002 UPDATE: A POSSIBLE "COMFORT LETTER"
What follows I forward in it's entirety:
In 2002, British Columbia something Olaf Henny wrote
to the Solicitor General of BC concerning how Section
57 is to be applied. Olaf believes that the response
he received can function as a "comfort letter" which
could be shown to funeral directors, medical personnel
and common carriers in BC who might be fearful of how
the law is applied. The letter may well assure these
service providers that they are not violating the law
by providing service to cryonicists who have
contracted with out-of-province cryonics
organizations.
The letter is as follows:
September 4, 2002
Olaf Henny RR#2
315 - 7801 Spartan Drive
Osoyoos BC V0H 1V0
Dear Mr. Henny:
Your letter of July 13, 2002, to the Honourable Claude
Richmond, regarding Section 57 of the Cemetery and
Funeral Services Act and the sale of cryonics in
British Columbia, has been forwarded to me for
response.
Section 57 of the Cemetery and Funerals Services Act
is designed to prohibit funeral providers from
offering for sale any cryonic arrangements on the
expectation of resuscitation of the human remains at a
future time. This section does not prohibit private
cryonic businesses from operating, nor does it prevent
consumers from accessing the services of these
businesses.
Should a consumer wish, that their remains be
preserved using cryonics, a British Columbia funeral
provider would not be restricted from performing
related services such as preparation and transport,
but cannot be involved with the sale of the cryonic
arrangement.
If you require further information, please do not
hesitate to contact the Registrar of Cemetery and
Funeral Services at:
Registrar of Cemetery and funeral Services
PO Box 9297
Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC V8W 9J8
I appreciate you bringing your concerns to my
attention.
Sincerely yours,
R.T. (Rich) Coleman
Solicitor General
cc: The Honourable Claude Richmond
Tayt Winnitoy, Registrar, Cemetery and Funeral
Services
------------------------------------
Almost certainly, this is old news and has long since
been posted to the cryonet, yet, though I've been
continuously subscribed to the cryonet, scan the list
nearly daily, and have my "BC news" sensors on alert,
I hadn't seen it. And in going back to the archives I
cannot find it, at least not posted by Olaf. (No
doubt someone will set me straight.)
If you look at the earlier attempt (as described on
the same web page) at addressing the BC cryonics
illegality problem, and compare that result with what
I can only describe as Olaf's success, you see what
can be accomplished with skillful communications,
artful interpretation, and diplomacy.
***THIS IS MY GUESS***, because the letter Olaf sent
off is not included with the very favorable response
he received from the Solicitor General of BC. But I
am willing to stick my neck out this harmless little
bit and makee this guess, because I have always found
Olaf's messages to suggest that he is a reasonable and
bright fellow, short on arrogance and 'long' on people
skills.
Olaf, if you read this, could you post a copy of that
letter? I'm very interested to see how you achieved
your result.
It seems that the Solicitor General has arrived at the
determination that the Cemetery and Funerals Services
Act applies ***narrowly*** to funeral providers, and
that consequently only "funeral providers" are
constrained by the law. This implies a crucial and
completely apt distinction between cryonics service
providers and funeral service. This distinction is
long in coming, and constitutes in my view the central
element in Olaf's accomplishment and a major
accomplishment in its own right. Something to be
built upon.
Again, major kudos, Olaf.
Best, Jeff Davis
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at
you, then they fight you, then you win."
Mahatma Gandhi
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